Pivoting headlight



G. LESPINAT ET AL March 5, 1929.

PIVOTING HEADLIGHT Filed March 16, 192B 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 5, 1929- G. LESPINAT ET Al. 1,704,046

PIVOTING HEADLIGHT Filed March 16, 1928 4 sheets-sheet 2 G. LESPINAT ET AL `PIVOTING HEADLIGHT March 5, 1929. Y

Filed March 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet March 5, 1929. G. Lr-:sPlNA-r ET A1.

PIVOTING HEADLIGHT Filed March 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 6. fes/Ma fija/5am Patented Mar. 5, 1929-.

UNITED STATES i' .1,7o4,046 mismo FICE.

n GEORGES LESPINAT AND nii-NST vli-AIJHAS, F PARIS; FRANCE;

rrvo'rrNG HEADLIGHT.

nppneaiioniueagriarch ic1'92av,se`ria1 Np. 262,282, and in rranceiiarciiai, i927.

. lThe present invention relates toiinprove-y ments in pivoting headlightsfor motor kor other vehicles, in which` the headlights are so arranged as to liOht therroad ata` great c distance without blinding the persons travel# ling in theother direction, 4and the inner side of the road willbe kstrongly lighted when making turns on the road, without offering prejudice to the driver oi' a vehicle travelling io in the other direction. i p. i

For this purpose, the headlight is suitably connected with` the` steering gear of the vehicle andis provided kwithan `antiblindingsci'eenwhich is .pivoted on a supporting axle. lVhen the steering wheels have .the straight position, i. e. when they are parallel with the axis ot the vehicle,the said screenis placed between the illuminant and the glass of the headlight so as to aitord a non-blinding light;I when making turns on theroad, the said screen rotates on its axis vat the saine ktime as the headlight but in the contrary direction, through an angle which has a given relation to the angle of rotation oi the headlight, so that the light will be uncovered at theinterior oi the road turn but will remain covered at the exterior.

rllhe appended drawings show by way ot examplev an embodiment oit the invention.L

the operation of the apparatus.'1V

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic iront elevational view of a vehicle providedwith a headlight v according to thepinvention. l

liig. i is a plan .view showingvthe means :tor controlling the headlight.

Figs. 5 and 6 arerespectively iront and side elevational views oit a'detail, with vari# ous parts in section. v

Figs. 7 and 8 are views on a larger scale showing front and side elevations of the apparatus relative to the method of mounting it upon the vehicle traine.

Fig. 9 is a view on a larger scale show- 45 ing a side elevation ot the apparatus with parts of the casing and its support broken away.

Fig. 10 is a vertical section, with the antiblinding screen in another position.

Figs. 11 and l2 are front views corresponding respectively to Figs.V 9 and 10.

Thesaid headlightmay be employed upon a vehicle either alone or as shown in Figs.

1 and 2 in combination with the usual head V tlights, and it ,is mounted below the latter and in front ot the radiator. It comprises Figs. 1 and` 2 are diagrams explaining n, i y y n `with a spring lsurrounding the shaft 2; on

a support 1. which is `apertured forthe inertion oit tlieaxle 2 upon which it is pivoted and which is secured to the envelope or the casing 3 ot the headlight. i

'Thesupport 1 is secured to an arm 4 pro vided witha flange 5 which serves tosecure 'theheadlight to the iront lug or" one of the side beams 6, as shown iin detail in Figs. 7 and 8.

As in the known types, thellieadlight comprises a parabolic mirror 7 at whose focus is 4'mounted an electric lamp 8 :'disposed in a socket 9; said' socket-is secured to akineinber 10 `joined to the parabolic mirror 7, Lsaid member being secured to a back piece 11 connected with the casing by a bayoiietjoint, so that theklainp can be readily removed at thek rear tor inspection or renewal, without removing the front disc as yis usually the case,.with some danger of breaking the glass of the headlight. y `.The currentis supplied tothe lamp by a cable 12 which is protected at `the exterior o'lilthe apparatus by ai nietallicsheath 13. The glass, shown `at 26, is `smooth at the central part and ytinted yat the edges. i' l i `The pivot axle 2 of the headlight .is lathef turned in suchinanner as to Atorni a shoulder which is in contact with a socket 14 screwed to the base of the support l and inv contact a second shoulder provided near thetop of the said shalt are formed-two double ramps having a 300 inclination and coacting with a member 16 of vcorresponding kshape which v is inounted'in the support.

The said ramps act in co-operation with the spring 15 to assure a fixed and accuratek positionot the headlightwhen upon straight road, and to bring the headlight into this position when it has been turned to the right the normal position sliownin Fig. 10 toga position such as is shown in Fig. 9, theaxle 2 is raised, this compressing the spring,`and

under the action of the latter, it tends to ln fact, when ithas turned roin by a lever 2l secured at one of the holes 22 pierced in the axle 2, in such manner that the headlight may be mounted upon vehicles of all types irrespectively of the distance between the vehicle frame and the coupling bar `23; at the centre of this latter is mounted a collar 24 ot Which one arm, or the longest, is pierced with slot in Which is engaged the end of thelever 2l (Figs. ll, 5, 6 and 8) the length of said lever is such that When the back part oi the headlight is at the proper distance from the radiator as shown at 25, the end of the levei` will always remain engaged in the slot in the collar Q4.

The headlight can rotate through l0"50" which correspondsto an 80G-90C rotation oi the screen 20, but in the major part of the turns on the road, the headlight is rotated only about 30o-35, so that the said screen Will `not have the position shown in 9 in which it is displaced 90 from its normal position (Fig. 10). n

rThe headlight is so constructed that it will light the road Vfor about 70 meters in front ofthe vehicle', upon a straight road (Fig. l), and herein it Will not be necessary to light both headlights. Due to the fact that the screen 2O is placed between the lamp 8 vand the glass 2G, the light will not have a glaring or blinding eilect upon persons on' toot travelling in the opposite direction to the vehicle. YVhen turning on the road, We may, as shown in Fig. 2, light the stationary headlights, and the rotation ot the movable headlight-under the control ot the straight motion of the coupling ar 23-is such in the major part ot' the road. turns that the screen 20 Will never rotate through 90, and thus the light Will be only partially uncovered so asto light the inner side when turning on the road, Whilst the light sent to the outer side must pass through the screen 2O and hence will not blind the driver of a vehicle coming in the other direction.

Obviously, the said invention is not limited to the constructional form herein described by Way ot example, and We may modify the Jform, disposition and method mounting the several parts of the vheadlight Without departing from the principle of the invention.

l `In particular, the headlight may be mounted on the right-hand side beam instead of on the left, and it might even be mounted at any other suitable pointof the vehicle, by properly modifying the parts used for the control and the securing of the apparatus.

Having thus described our apparatus, What We claim as new` therein, and our own invention, is i 1. In a pivoting headlight for motor vehicles, the combination of a pivot axle upon Which the headlight is mounted, means for rotating said axle, a screen disposed in the interior of the headlight and in front of the lamp, a pivot axle carrying the said screen, a support `Which is vpermanently secured to the vehicle trame and in Which both pivot axles are rotatable, and means for imparting the rotation of the said pivot axle of the headlight to the pivot axle of the said screen.

2. VIn a pivoting headlight for motor vehicles, the combination of a pivot axle upon which the headlight is mounted, means for rotating said axle, a screen disposed in the interior of the headlight and in front of the lamp, a pivot axle carrying the said screen, a support which is permanently secured to the vehicle frame and in which both pivot axles are rotatable, a gear Wheel mounted on the pivot axle of the'headlight, a gear Wheel mounted on the pivot axle of the said screen, said gear Wheels being in engagement.

3. ln a pivoting headlight for motor vehicles, the combination of a. pivot axle upon which the headlight is mounted, means for rotating said axle, a screen disposed in the interior of the headlight and in front of the lamp, a pivot axle carrying the said screen, a support which is permanently secured to the vehicle frame and in Which both pivot axles are rotatable, means for imparting the rotation of the pivot axle of the headlight to pivot axle of the said screen, a lever mounted on the pivot axle of the headlight, and a forli mounted on the coupling bar of the steering gear of the vehicle, said lever being adapted to engage between the branches of said fork.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto aiiixed our signatures.

GEORGES LESPINAT. ERNST Kam-ixus. 

